Green Ribbons and Turbans: Young Iranians Against the Mullahs

During the last presidential election in Iran, nonviolent protestors defied the mullahs’ power by wearing green ribbons on their wrists. In June of 2009, the inhabitants of Tehran were living underground to escape the government’s authority, strangled by interdictions, dreaming of freedom and revolution. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran and desperate to maintain his power, defeated his opponent, Mahmoud Mousavi, by massive electoral fraud. The resulting frustration and anger throughout the country sparked a gigantic wave of opposition. The Green Movement was born.

In this timely, politically relevant, and unique account of life in Iran, Arefi takes us to a world removed from the usual cultural and political clichés about Iran and lets us hear the voices of a new generation of Iranians, who have never known anything but religious dictatorship and repression. He also tells the stories of the first victims of repression—Neda, Sohrab, and Taraneh.